Harley-Davidson shows off electric bikes powered by Samsung batteries

Samsung SDI Co.’s battery packs will power Harley-Davidson’s first all-electric two-wheel cruiser LiveWire readying to roll out this fall.

The secondary battery maker under South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung Group said Tuesday that Harley-Davidson’s first electric motorcycle LiveWire equipped with its lithium-ion battery will be unveiled during the CES 2019 tradeshow in Las Vegas on Jan. 8-11.

Samsung SDI said it has collaborated with Harley-Davison on developing the electric motorcycle since 2014. It said LiveWire is capable of traveling 110 city miles on a single charge, nearly doubled from the traveling distance of the original prototype. Also, the motorcycle can sprint from zero to 60 miles per hour in under 3.5 seconds, claimed the company.

The all-electric two-wheeler by Harley-Davison is also equipped with a telematics system called H-D Connect that allows its owner to remotely check battery charge and expected driving range, as well as communicate with peer LiveWire drivers.

The original electric bike prototype of the 116-year-old American motorcycle maker appeared in Hollywood’s blockbuster movie “Avengers: Age of Ultron” in 2015. The all-new model will be launched in August 2019, according to Harley-Davison.

Samsung SDI has been going all out to diversify its client base for batteries that have been mainly used in passenger cars. The company will strive to lead the market with innovative battery products, said Kim Jeong-wook, vice president at Samsung SDI.